Brothers Layout

Good evening fellow scrappers & bloggers! Today I bring you a page titled 'Brothers'. This is my husband (far left) along with his two older brothers. Yep, he's the baby--in more ways than one! Shhhh, don't tell him I said that!

This was taken on Thanksgiving 2010. This was truly a monumental event! These three haven't been under the same roof since when they were teenagers...the very next day we got about 24" inches of snow (no kidding) so that's how miraculous it was to have these three together again! Them being together even seemed to disrupt Mother Nature. They all live in different states--which is why it's hard to get them together.

Needless to say my in-laws were ecstatic to have the three brothers together again & I went photo crazy. Luckily they posed for me for not just one but several pictures--this one being my favorite. I plan on giving this page framed to my mother-in-law. I think she deserves it! :-)

This is a very 'manly' page. It had to be! My brothers-in-law would drop kick me if I made anything dainty with thier pictures in it. So I went all out with the grunge look!

I used papers from the February "Things Remembered" Swirlydoos kit & did a whole lot of stamping, masking & inking. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a stamper. I LOVED making my own background on this page & have been stamping on my pages more & more. So I think I finally found my calling. :-)

I also did this page for Creative Scrappers. I based this page on thier Sketch #146. Here's the sketch:

Besides stamping the background I also stamped on the burlap. You can see a little bit of it here in this picture. I did the woven stitch around my title. For a tut on this woven stitch, please go here.

The quote I found on the internet & found it to be just right for this page. It reads: "A brother shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams"

A closeup of some of the stamping, misting & masking I did for my background.

I'm starting to upload small 'stamping tips' here on my blog. For a quick tip on how to make your own shaped stamped collages like this one, feel free to go here.

I also have a tip on how to get that streaked, distressed look you see on my background page--please refer here for that quick tip.

I used a Tim Holtz mask for the clock. I then did a zig-zag stitch all around the border of the clock.

I cut out a circle that was larger than the clock & used that circle as a mask for the inked orange circle going around the clock.
This page wouldn't be complete without a 'man flower'...so here's my version of it. I made this flower from burlap. For a tutorial on how this flower was made--please feel free to go here.

The other two smaller burlap flowers are by Prima. They were white burlap--I misted them with Tuscan Sun glimmer mist.

The brick chipboard is from Dusty Attic. I inked it with Vintage Photo distress ink, then heat embossed it with Vintage Photo embossing powder. I removed some of the bricks out from the 'wall' & adhered them with pop dots in order to make them stand out from the rest of the bricks. For the bricks that are standing out, I then spread some Walnut Ink distress stickles on them.

I hope I did my brothers-in-law justice & made for them a very 'manly' page.

Thanks to all who stop by--I truly appreciate your visit.

Burlap Flower Tutorial

Good evening fellow bloggers! Today I bring you a tutorial on how to make burlap flowers for those 'man' pages.

Having primarily men to scrap--I'm constantly trying to come up with masculine flowers for my pages. A hard task since obviously most flowers are geared towards feminine pages. For a while I had this idea of making a burlap flower. However, I wanted it to have dimension--I didn't want it to be flat. It finally dawned on me how I could achieve this look. I modeled these flowers after the Grunge Flowers that Tim Holtz made so very popular. In fact, to get a more detailed step-by-step tut on how to make this kind of flower in general, please refer to his tutorial here.

You can find these burlap flowers in full action on my page titled 'Brothers'.

Here are your basic list of supplies: Big Shot or any other compatible die cut machine, flower die (I used Sizzix Original Die - Flower Layers #5 in my example) although you can use any flower die as long as it has petals, burlap, white puffy paint, distress ink, pencil or thin paint brush for rolling/shaping petals & a heat gun.

So let's get started!

Swipe Technique For Distressed Background

Here's another quick stamping tip. Want to get a streaked, distressed look on your page?

Simply take a distress ink pad & just swipe it down your page from top to bottom.

NOTE: Only swipe from top to bottom--not up & down.

Keep swiping from top to bottom until you get the distressed 'streaky' look you desire!

If you're nervous about trying this out on your project--practice on some scrap paper first...after all, practice makes perfect...

Have fun!

Using Masks for Stamping

Time for a quick stamping tip...if you want to get a collage of stamped images shaped into a particular shape--try paper masks!

This circle collage you can find on my 'Brothers' page.

Here's how I went about creating this circular stamped collage.

Love Layout

Good evening fellow bloggers & scrappers! Today's page is titled simply 'Love'. It's a lovey-dovey page based on my husband & myself. It's been a while since my husband & I took pictures of just us so I decided to do a brief photo shoot in our bedroom--that's why you see my spider plant & drawers in the background!? :-) No professional photo sessions for us as of yet...let's just say that I'm in love with my tri-pod & the timer on my camera!

The light turquoise background is paper from Tim Holz's Lost & Found line. All the images you see were either stamped or masked by me. I really like adding stamps to my pages & making my own backgrounds.

A big shout out to my scrap-buddy partner in crime Natasha for giving me these fabulous bamboo sticks! So far they've helped me complete 2 layouts! Thank you girl!

Besides the stamping, I've done lots of hand stitching, some masking & loads of inking.

I did this page for the Dusty Attic sketch challenge going on right now. Here's the sketch.

A closeup of the corrugated cardboard. I did everything under the sun to this cardboard! It was painted in bronze acrylic paint & a bit of glimmer glam. I then spread some Aged Mahogany & Vintage Photo Distress Stickles & then smeared it with Walnut Distress ink.

The title is glued onto one side of the bamboo sticks & dressed up with turquoise stickles.

A closeup of some of my stamping & bling flourishes. The harlequin stamp is by Purple Onion Designs. The bling flourish is all from one Prima flourish--it was simply cut up & placed where I needed it.

Here you can also see a closeup of the staggered zig-zag stitching at the bottom of the page. Thanks again Natasha for the fabulous tip on using the EK Success Dots & Lines Edger punch to make this zig-zag stitch tons easier...I have less grey hairs now!

These 'glass' flowers add such a subtle touch to any page.  I have a tutorial on how I made this flower--if you're interested on making these glass flowers--feel free to refer to the tutorial here.

Like the corrugated cardboard, this Dusty Attic branch chipboard went through major alterations! It was inked in Vintage Photo distress ink, then it was embossed with Vintage Photo Distressed embossing powder. With my finger I rubbed off some of the embossing powder to give it a more grungy look. Then I spread some Perfect Pearls all over it with a fine brush. The two birds & leaves were further embellished by coloring them with a Versamark pen & then heat embossing them with UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel). That's how the leaves & birds got that extra glossy sheen on them.

I used the Martha Stewart Lace punch along the one border of my page. I then hand stitched along the edge of the punch. This punch already comes with the holes--all I did was stitch along them.

Thanks to all of you who stop by my blog & pay me a visit--I greatly appreciate you all taking the time to look & spread some luv!

Glass Flower Tutorial

Hello once again fellow scrappers. Today's brief tutorial is one I've been meaning to post for a long time--let's just say I finally found the time to do so! Experimenting with transparencies is something I really like to do. These flowers were inspired by Irene Tan (Scrapperlicious). She loves to experiment with acrylic & transparencies & she's made a couple of transparent flowers that really add a fabulous touch to her pages--this is my take on these see-through flowers. This particular flower that I'm demonstrating can be seen in my 'Love' page.

You'll need the following supplies: Flower punch and/or flower die cut--I'm using a combination of the medium sized Retro Flower punch by EK Success & the Tattered Flowers die by Tim Holtz--white gel pen, Sharpie Paint marker, transparency or acrylic, decorative scissors.
Onto the tutorial!

U R on my Mind Layout

Good evening fellow scrap-peeps! Today’s page is titled ‘U R on my Mind’ & is a remake of one of my first pages. This layout serves two purposes—to show how much my scrapbooking style has changed & as a submission for the Bo Bunny sketch challenge.

This is my husband & my little Toby taking a nap together. I just happened to be around at the perfect time to capture a perfect moment. They really are sleeping here too…no acting!

First some details on the challenge. Here’s the sketch we were given. This sketch provided much room for creativity.

I used BoBunny’s Cambridge collection for this page. The papers in the Cambridge collection were just right for a masculine themed page. I concentrated on two main concepts here—the harlequin design & random dots. My stitching, punch work & choice of paper all have either random dots or harlequin designs on them.

The metal flowers you see scattered about my page are actually bead caps. I had a few of these laying around & realized that they make perfect flowers.

The random dots were done with the EK Success Swiss punch. I just punched randomly not caring if I overlapped the dots. Then with a red permanent marker I traced around the circles in order to highlight them. I did this technique on the corner of my main photo & on the top & bottom borders of my page. I’ve seen Irene Tan (Scrapperlicious) do a similar technique—however I did not do such heavy random dot distressing as I’ve seen her do.

With a paper cutter I cut an area in my page in order to insert a tag that contains my journaling. The tag was first inked with distress inks & the journaling was printed on a transparency & then adhered to the tag. Finally I embossed the entire tag with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Two acid free safety pins & a charm add the final touch to my journaling tag!

Journaling reads as follows: I took this picture while the two of you slept together. You looked so peaceful...at that moment I realized how grateful I am to have you. It's needless to say that no matter where I am or what I'm doing, my thoughts rarely stray from my two sweethearts.

I used Martha Stewart’s Garden Trellis punch to make the frame going around the top of my main picture. The edges of my picture are distressed & inked in Fired Brick distress ink.

I ended up using the woven stitch technique again on this page. For a tutorial on this woven stitch, please go here.

Finally, here’s a close up of my man flower. I call it a man flower because I wanted it to be a rugged, grungy sort of flower. Pink frilly flowers will not do for a page where my husband is involved! I’m afraid he’d file a complaint. I used a combination of Tim Holtz’s Tattered Florals die, Retro flower punch & a 2-tone brown mulberry flower for my man rose.

I hope to make a tutorial on this flower soon. So keep an eye out for it!


I’ve come a long way with my scrapbooking style. Mostly I’ve simply stopped being afraid to try new things. I’m starting to realize that the more adventurous I become…the more creative I can get!

That wraps up today’s post. Thanks for stopping by & I appreciate all your wonderful comments!

Heart Breaker Layout

Good evening! Am sitting here watching American Idol & at the same time uploading my latest page titled 'Heart Breaker'--and I mean this in the literal sense.

Here's my little Toby tearing apart my heart! My red doily heart that is. Yep, this is one of Toby's favorite past times--ripping up any paper from my scrapbook stash that he can get his little paws on. When I saw him ripping into my heart doily I decided to take pictures as he did it. Besides--it was too late to save the heart! With Valentines just having passed, I figured this would be a perfect page for the occasion.

There are a variety of techniques on this page. There's masking, stamping, embossing, painting, stitching & a version of lacing.

I used a combination of papers from two Swirlydoos kits. Most of the script you see on the paper is actually a stamp. The vines & swirls you see in the red background was made with a mask & three layers of painting/inking. First layer was white acrylic paint, second layer was a dab of Fired Brick distress ink & final layer was Black Soot distress ink.

In this screen shot you can also see the black stitching going around the page.

The paper behind the photos is actually white vellum that I wrinkled & tore, inked in Fired Brick distress ink & stamped with a script stamp.

I did a version of stitching/lacing once again to make the harlequin background you see in this screen shot.


A closeup of the heart chippie. The heart was painted with three colors of acrylic paint--black, ivory & red. I tapped my paintbrush on the chippie to give it that 'splattered' effect. Then I used a crackle medium to give it that broken glass look.

Finally a closeup of the black swirls. The swirls are made out of grungeboard. I painted the swirls in black acrylic paint. Once dry, I dipped the grungeboard in embossing ink, poured clear Star Dust embossing powder on it & then heat embossed it. In person, the texture of these flourishes are really pretty!


Finally I randomly added Star Dust stickles around the page--it's hard to see in these photos...but they're there!

Well off to finish watching American Idol...believe it or not--it's my husband who loves this show...I just go along for the ride.

Woven Stitch Tutorial

This tutorial was used in my Essential Cog layout. This stitch can be used straight or in a circular form.  I think this is what makes this fairly large stitch unique--it can be used in a variety of ways. In a circle, straight at a slant--the choice is yours.

Opposites Really Do Attract Layout

Hello again from a very icy North East. Mother Nature seems to be angry for some reason--it's been a rough winter in my book...can you say Spring?

My latest layout all began with the discovery of one picture--a picture of my husband when he was 12 sporting one very goofy smile! He still has that goofy smile--it's one of the many little things that I loved about him...

When I found this picture of him while helping him organize his boxes & boxes of junk (e-hem--I mean 'valuables' as he puts it) I knew I had to scrap it. But I didn't want to just scrap that one photo...I wanted a then & now of both him & myself & I also wanted to convey how different we are but yet, we were still drawn together.

I'm a full blown city girl. My husband is a hardcore country boy. He grew up surrounded with trees, quietness & all sorts of animals like bears, bull frogs, deer & rabbits. I grew up in the city where I could count the trees in my town on one hand, it was always loud & the only animals I remember seeing growing up were the dogs that people took out for their daily walks! Our up bringing affects us up till now. I'm very loud & you can hear my big mouth miles away. My husband is very quiet & tends to blend into the wall paper! But I think that's why we connected. He tones me down & I add tend to turn his usual quiet life upside down!

I did some distressing & stitching on this page--but what I did the most of was stamping. The entire background you see here was made with stamps & some masking.

I used a couple of metal flowers by Tim Holtz to decorate the corners. You can see some bling peeking out from the tear in my paper.

The flourishes you see all along the border of the layout is a flourish stamp by Tim Holtz.

Here you see a closeup of the masking, stitching, more stamping & the texture of the heart chipboard. I used the leaf glitter with UTEE technique to give the heart this texture. It looks amazing in person! If interested in this technique, feel free to find the tutorial here.

On my husband's side I wanted items that identified with him. So I have a picket fence, a rabbit (to represent nature) & a branch. The branch is actually a Prima felt vine that I covered in Copper Stickles & then with Broken China Distress Stickles. Here you can also see the stamping on the fence & the grass I stamped right below the fence.
On my side I stamped a brick wall background & used a stamp of the city of course what else! The stamp is by Tim Holtz & was perfect for this page.

I finished up the page by adding Star Dust stickles on all the flourishes & on the majority of my stamping. It's something I tend to do on all my pages but you can hardly tell from these pictures.

Hope you all enjoyed this page & that it serves as some proof that opposites really do attract!